Music-roll.



F. C. BILLINGS.

MUSIC ROLL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 1. 1916.-

1,263,022. Patented Apr. 16, 1918.

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HUI] uunn nun HEM n u E WITNESSES: INVENTOR ATTORNEYS F. C. BILLlNGS.

MUSIC ROLL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 7. 1916. 1263,0229 Patented Apr, 16, 1918.

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FREDERICK C. BILLINGS, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

MUSIC-ROLL.

Specification. of Letters Eatent.

Patented Apr. 16, 1918.

Application filed December 7, 1918. Serial No. 135,535.

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK G. BILIr mos, citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Music-Rolls, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in music rolls for player pianos and other automatic musical instruments, and it pertains especially to that class of music rolls'shown and described in my former Patent #ll-ltSll, dated August 15, 1916, the present invention being an improvement upon the music roll described and claimed in said former application.

In said former application, I illustrated means whereby the musical staff might be subdivided into fragments both lineally and laterally offset from each other with a view to exposing the successive notes over the tracker bar of a player piano substantially in synchronism with the initial portion of a perforation of the music sheet controlling the production of the same note by the instrument. I have discovered that it is not necessary to thus synchronize all of the notes with the perforations in the music sheet and I also find that it is desirable, in some cases, to avoid offsetting the fragments of the stall, although, by properly grouping notes and words in a stafi' fragment, it is possible to lineally aline all of the fragments and to enable a singer to follow both the music and'the words even more readily than can be done with the arrangement disclosed in said former patent.

The object of this invention is to group the words and notes upon successive lineally alined fragments, each of which fragments contains one or more notes associated with one or more corresponding words or syllables (unless the music is purely instrumental music). The relatively unimportant notes and words are grouped with one accented note and word or syllable in each fragment and the accented word or syllable and the corresponding accented note is substantially synchronized with the perforations in the music sheet productive of the same note. This enables a singer to pronounce the words and syllables with reference to the melodic phrasing or the ideas embodied in the phrasing, instead of re quiring the singer to follow the notes in detached form or as detached or separate notes to be sounded. It also enables the singer to readily grasp the conception of the music in that each group of notes represented by one accented note and one or more unaccented notes associated with it, are simultaneously displayed, the accented note constituting the key to the group and the unaccented notes, words, or syllables estab lishing the connection in thought or conception and usually suggesting the succeeding group to the mind.

it further object of the present invention is to avoid the eye-strain which results from the rapid display of a succession of fragments which are either crowded or not line ally alined, and a still further and very important object is to provide means for laterally oifsetting the bass clef from the treble clef, whereby the music may be printed under each clef in separate columns and corre sponding notes in each clef simultaneously displayed upon the tracker bar.

In the drawings Figure 1 shows a perforate music sheet having a border portion provided with the printed notes and words of a solo, associated with a staff subdivided into fragments but with each fragment containing a plurality of notes and associated words or syllables only one of the notes and only one of the syllables being accented.

Fi 2 is a similar view showing a fragment of a music roll embodying a lineal succession of verses including a portion of the interlude, and also showing the olfset clefs.

Like parts are identified by the same ref erence characters in both views.

My improved music roll may be used either with or 'ithout perforations. The perforations will, of course, be employed where the roll is to be used in, and the music mechanically produced, by a player piano. lWllYfl it is to be used in connection with another musical instrument, or where, for any reason, the piano keys are not being operated, the perforations are not essential. Roll winding and unwinding mechanism similar to that embodied in player pianos may be employed to manipulate the roll either under the control of the musician or mechanically. Mechanisms for thus winding and unwinding music rolls being well understood in the art, no illustration or further description is deemed necessary as such mechanisms form no part of the present invention. If the music roll is not perforated, it may be wound and unwound by the mechanism of a player piano without sounding any of the notes.

My improved music roll, whether perforated or not, is provided with an unperforated portion upon which the music is printed in a manner similar to thatdescribed in my former Patent #1194811. The stafi' is divided into fragments and the initial fragment 5 contains the clefs and any conventional index matter may be arranged (as shown in'Fig. 1) in the same form as in an ordinary song book or music sheet. This portion of the stafi also contains the initial note for each part to be sung or played.

But instead of dividing the staff into similar fragments, each of which carries a single note as illustrated in my former patent, and instead of offsetting the fragments laterally, I have, for the purpose of my present invention, subdivided the staff with particular reference to the accented notes and the melodic phrasing, one accented note appearing upon each fragment and each frag ment having grouped thereon such other unaccented notes as are naturally associated With the accented note appearing on the fragment. I refer, of course, to the unaccented notes which intervene between the accented note on the fragment and the next preceding or succeeding accented note.

The division points at which the staff is broken will depend in each case upon the conception of the piece. For example, in the piece of music illustrated in Fig. 1, the accented note, (in each case except as to the first fragment), is the first note appearing upon the staff fragment. In this particular piece of music, this is not essential, since it would be possible to have the accented note appearing at the end of the fragment, in which case the first three words of the song, and the notes pertaining thereto, would appear on the first fragment, but I prefer, wherever it is possible to do so, to subdivide the fragments in such a manner that the vertical lines indicating the measures will appear either at the beginning or at the end of each fragment. i

In Fig. 1, each fragment represents either the beginning or the end of the measure, and the accented notes are the initial notes on each fragment. The accented notes are substantially synchronized with the perforation which causes such note to be sounded, but it is not in strict lateral alinement with the perforation. On the contrary, the perforations are advanced to some extent, for the reason that the music can be easily seen and read while approaching the tracker bar along the forwardly and downwardly inclined plane along which the sheet ordinarily travels. But after passing the tracker bar, the-music sheet inclines downwardly and inwardly and is therefore more or less in shadow, and the line of vision strikes the sheet at a decidedly obtuse angle. This makes it much more difficult to read or interpret the music after it has passed the tracker than it is when the sheet is approaching such bar.

The degree to which the perforations are advanced is not essential to my invention, this being dependent, to some extent, upon the character of the music. Quick time pieces will require a greater advancement of the perforations than those which are to be played in slow time, but in any event, the efi'ect produced upon the mind and eye of the singer will be that of substantial synchronism, whereas, if the accented notes are in lateral alinement with the perforations appearing on the tracker bar, the rapid disappearance of these notes below the bar will convey the impression that the notes are advanced and thus destroy the desired synchronistic effect.

In Fig. 2 it will be observed that the verses are lineally alined and the clefs are offset, all the fragments of each clef being arranged in a single column, and the corresponding fragments of the other clef or clefs being laterally ofiset. By repeating the music in connection with the words of the several verses, rewinding is not only avoided, but I also avoid the confusion which results where the words of the several verses are arranged on successive linesbelow a single fragment of printed music.

By separating the fragments of the different clefs along horizontal lines, whereby all of the music pertaining to each clef, and also the words, appear in a single column or line of fragments, it is possible for each singer to follow his part without confusion, much more easily than in the ordinary song book. I attach great importance to this feature of my invention, not only for the reason that confusion is thereby avoided, but for the further reason that each clef fragment may thus be similarly synchronized with the perforations. The keeping of accurate time is facilitated not only by the sound of respective notes as mechanically produced, but also for the reason that each singer quickly learns to sound the accented note of each fragment in its proper relation to the tracker bar, and all of the singers therefore tend naturally to sing in unison.

For instrumental music it is, of course, unnecessary that the music should be printed in lineally alined verses. although, if repetition of the verses is desired, this may be done.

I claim- 1. A music roll provided with an imperforate border portion having printed thereon a musical staff subdivided into a column of ed, when the roll is used in connection with a player piano, to mechanically reproduce the notes printed on such fragment, and said column of fragments including all the notes of the musical piece included in the clef represented by said fragments.

2. A music roll provided with an imperforate border portion having printed thereon a musical staff subdivided into a column of staff fragments which are longitudinally alined upon the roll, each of said staff fragments having one measure line, and staff lines extending therefrom transversely of the strip composing the roll, and having printed thereon one accented note and such other unaccented notes as are naturally grouped therewith in accordance with the conception of the piece, said roll having perforations adjacent to each fragment adapted, when the roll is used in connection with a player piano, to mechanically reproduce 30 the notes printed on such fragment, and said column of fragments including all the notes of the musical piece included in the clef represented by said fragments.

3. A perforate music roll for player pianos, provided with an imperforate border portion having a musical staff printed thereon in columns of lineally alined fragments, one column containing fragments of the bass clef, said fragments in both columns 40 being each arranged with staff lines extending transversely of the roll, and'each containing one accented note and such other notes as are naturally grouped therewith in the melodic phrasing of the piece and fornr r ing a single phrase, the fragments in each column including all the notes of the clef, and each fragment being so located with reference to the perforations on the sheet as to facilitate reading the printed music in cons nectlon wlth the mechanlcal reproduction of the same notes by the player piano.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK C. BILLINGS. Witnesses:

OTTILIA C. WEBER, FREDERICK W. NOLTE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

